Take A Heart, Leave A Heart
by 4give4get
Summary: Tenten throws a pityparty for Neji.  Surely, no good can come from this.  nejiXten SLIGHT inoXshika and MAYBE some naruXhinaWARNING! CHARACTER DEATH IN CHAPTER 6!
1. Intro

**Title- Take a Heart Leave a Heart**

**Author-**** 4give4get**

**Rated-**** T**

**Pairing-**** NEJI X TENTEN ALL THE WAY!**

**Chapter- One (Your Average Tomboy)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto. I don't even own a cat.**

**Serena- I'm back and pumped with a brand-spanking new story! Less humor than the last one, but still for all you NejTen lovers out there… THIS IS THE STORY FOR YOU! I CANNOT STAND EITHER OF THEM WITH ANYONE ELSE, SO TOO BAD IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT! NEJI AND TENTEN ARE SOUL MATES AND ANYONE YOU WISHES TO CHALLENGE ME ON THE MATTER MAY FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME, BUT BE READY FOR A 10-PARAGRAPH ESSAY TO HEAD YOUR WAY ON WHY THEY SHOULD, COULD, AND WOULD GET TOGETHER! Thanks!**

_Your Average Tomboy…_

_**Tenten's POV:**_

"Training again?" Yutaka, my fiancé asked, as I headed for the door.

"Uh-huh, yeah." I answered, flashing him a smile.

"I'm not sure you should be around that guy, Neji." He added, I was already gone.

Yutaka was living with my parents and me since originally he was from another village and had nowhere else to stay. Both of our parents came up with the idea, and he agreed to marry me. I wasn't so fond of the idea at first, I mean, I'm only eighteen, but decided he was an okay guy. Some girls were engaged by their parents to people much worse. Like my best friend, Ino. Her parents decided to give her a while to see if she found love on her own. After a few months, they found a guy who was ten years older than her. I still remember the morning of the wedding.

"_B-b-b-but, T-t-tenten-ch-ch-chan!" Ino sobbed, "I d-d-d-don't w-w-w-w-want t-t-t d-d-d-do th-this!"_

"_Shhh," I hugged my friend tightly, "I know. It's going to be okay. Try and eat something."_

"_M-m-m-m-my l-l-l-life is r-r-r-ruined!" she continued to cry harder._

"_I'm so sorry, Ino-chan," I felt tears trickle out her eyes too, "I tried talking to your parents, they just wouldn't listen."_

"_Th-th-they h-h-h-had a d-debt to s-s-settle w-w-w-with h-him!" Ino hiccupped bitterly._

"_No matter what your parents owe, or who you marry, you'll always be my Ino-chan, okay?" I assured her, "You're my best friend and I love you, got it?"_

_Ino nodded, though more tears fell, "I l-l-l-love y-you too."_

"_Okay, now let's get you some ice cream!"_

And I really did mean everything I said. Ino is my best friend. Sure, she can sort of be a snob sometimes, but she's possibly the only person who's ever been completely, entirely honest with me. That, and I happen to love her like she was my sister.

I arrived at the team's usual training spot. Lee and Gai were having a conversation about youth, and Neji was meditating. I stood there for a while, annoyed that no one even noticed.

"HELLO?" I said, loudly.

"Ah! Tenten, our beautiful, youthful flower!" Gai exclaimed as he turned to look at me, _finally._

"Hai!" Lee exclaimed back, "She is both beautiful, _and _youthful, and most diffidently, our flower!"

At first, it was a little awkward to have that kind of thing said about you two or three times a day, but I was used to it by now.

"Well, said!" Gai began to have tears in his eyes, "Isn't she the most enchanting, beautiful, astonishing, smart, sweet, YOUTHFULLY PERFECT girl you've ever seen, Neji?" he draped his arm over the no longer meditating Neji.

"Uh, sure." He replied, rolling his eyes, "Now that we have acknowledged Tenten's here, can we begin?"

I sniggered at that. Neji shot me a look, and I suddenly didn't see any humor in his words.

Training was horrible, as usual. Neji and I sparred, until I was on the ground, exhausted, with cuts and scrapes from my own weapons, and Neji was still not even touched. It got frustrating, as he began to meditate again.

_Why can I not even stand and he hasn't even lost chakra?_

I pushed my feet under myself and tried to stand. I got about halfway, when my muscles flat out refused to. I fell back down, my chin sank into the ground. I hissed in pain, and at my own weakness. How pathetic I must look to Neji!

I blinked a few times to clear myself, and saw Neji in front of me. He smirked.

"Don't push yourself Tenten," he stated, pulling my arms over his shoulder to carry me on his back, "You're done, I'll take you home."

I sighed in spite of myself. I was pissed off at how easily he just defeated me. It was like this most of the time, too.

"Everyone progresses at different rates, Tenten." He said, as though he could read my mind.

"Sure," I sighed, not convinced.

I didn't have to be able to see his face to know that he was smirking again. That made me frustrated all over again. Neji rang my doorbell, and Yutaka answered the door. He glared at Neji.

"I'll see you later, Tenten." He said, as though he didn't notice Yutaka. He lowered me off his back.

"Sure." I waved, just able to stand with leaning most of my weight on the door knob.

And he was gone in a flash. I stumbled into the house, Yutaka held my shoulder.

"What happened to you?" he asked as soon as the door was closed.

"Just training." I answered, heading for the stairs, "I'm taking a shower."

A lot of the time, I wished Yutaka was my brother, not my fiancé. He cares about me, sure. And I cared a whole lot about him, but just not in that way. But every time I thought that, my guilty conscience would bring my thoughts back to Ino. At least I could get along with him right? He wasn't ten years older than me, right?

I thankfully washed all of the mud off of my body, and got into some clean clothes. I was still a little shaky on my feet, but it was much better. As I came downstairs, ravenous from all of the training, Yutaka stopped me.

"How exactly did you get like that?" he looked concerned, "I thought it was only training."

"It was," I replied, searching the fridge, "Neji and I were sparring."

"Neji did that to you?"

Shit.

"It's no big deal, I'm fine."

He scowled, it was pretty obvious that he didn't approve of me being a ninja, anymore than he liked me being around Neji, for reasons, I didn't see at all. A lot of times, I almost told him that before he came, I trained everyday until I couldn't stand, and spent most of that time with Neji, and I'm still alive today, aren't I? But I didn't want to start an argument.

"Hey, wanna go and visit Ino with me?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No, I got work in an hour." He replied, leaving the room.

I put my hair up and hurried out the door, not wanting to talk to him when he was in one of his moods. When I got there, a tired looking Ino answered the door, and ushered me in as soon as she saw it was me.

"Thanks for coming over, Tenten-chan." She said, squeezing my hand.

"Hey, shouldn't you be training with your team?" I asked, frowing.

"I skipped. It's sort of weird, for them I think. Just the concept of me being married."

I felt so bad for her, that must be horrible.

Suddenly, I felt a hand from behind me, reach over, and grab my left breast. For most girls, when this sort of thing happens, their first instinct is to whirl around, and punch the fucker in the nose. I did the whirling around part; I had a fist high and ready. But before I could make contact, I saw exactly who it was, grabbing me there.

Ino's husband. His breath smelled like sake.

_Figures._

Ino screamed, and I finished my blow, sending him backwards. She hugged me and whispered, "I'm sorry, he's been like that since, well, forever."

What? Had he tried anything on her? I knew he probably didn't get away with it. Ino was quite a strong ninja, with a powerful bloodline limit.

"You need to leave him, Ino." I said, looking her in the eye, "You can stay at my house, my parents won't care."

She nodded, "I thought about it. My parents would disown me."

"Your parents don't deserve a daughter like you." I insisted, "And you don't deserve parents that make you marry some booze-wreck. You'd be better off disowned, trust me."

I said this with knowing. My own parents had come close to disowning me, many times. First, when I decided to become a ninja. It took them a few months to get over that, and another time, when I threatened a guy with a kunai who would stop following Hinata and I when we were out shopping for a kimono for her, and also, when I first met Yutaka, I said I'd chew my own arm off before I'd bring myself to touch him. They were pissed and made me apologize, which, reluctantly I did.

Ino bit her lip, "I'll think about it."

_End Chapter_

**Serena- Hope you like it. Don't worry, after the speech I made at the beginning there is no way I'd turn around and let Neji and Tenten NOT get together, so just be patient, I know it doesn't seem like they will now, but THEY WILL!!**

**Luv ya all, plox review!**


	2. Mood Swings

**Title-**** Take A Heart, Leave A Heart**

**Author-**** 4give4get**

**Rated-**** T**

**Pairing- ****NEJI X TENTEN ALL THE WAY!**

**Chapter-**** Two (Mood Swings)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.**

**Serena- Thanks for the review, ****Youndime16!**

_Mood Swings…_

The next day, I came to training late. I had horrible dreams about Ino being taken advantage of. I didn't even bother changing out of my pajamas, and my hair was in a bed head rivaling any others I've ever had in my life. Neji glared at me when he saw me.

"Tenten, why are you in pajamas?" he demanded.

"Because," I snapped, "They're comfy."

"You can't train in them."

"Yes I can," I seethed, "Besides, who said I was training, anyway."

"Then why'd you even bother showing up?" Neji's face was emotionless, and his voice had no tone.

"Fine, then I'm going home." I whirled around; Gai and Lee were just watching us with amazed eyes.

"Stop being like this Tenten," Neji said, "It's annoying."

"Oh, I'm annoying am I?" I spat at him, "Well, right back 'atcha! At least I don't have the emotional range of thimble like you!"

I stomped right up to him and slapped him as hard as I could. He almost fell over, blood trickled out his nose. Gai and Lee were silent. So was Neji. Hey, I was upset. I hadn't been in a mood this bad…since a while. But everyone knows, every girl has a decent excuse to be a PMSing bitch once a month. That, and I was mad about Ino. Poor girl…

I began to cry, "I HATE YOU! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!"

I started running, "I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU AGAIN!" I sobbed.

Lee, Gai, and Neji's eyes were all wide with shock. I didn't care, and sped out of there as fast as I could. Back at my house, I flung the door open, glad Yutaka was at work, and cried until I fell asleep.

…

When I woke up, the next day, I realized what I did. I had WAY over reacted, and just because I was in a crumby mood to begin with, when my period came, I just couldn't control myself. I dragged myself out of bed, glad I had at least calmed down.

…

_**Neji's POV:**_

When Tenten came, which surprised me because she was pretty much a sobbing wreck last time, she was grinning ear to ear, in regular clothes, and had a tin tucked under her arm.

"Hi, Neji-kun! Hi, Lee-kun! Hi, Gai-sensei!" she chirped, waving, "Look! I brought hot chocolate and muffins, because I love you sooooo much!"

I was stunned. What was wrong with this girl? Wasn't she screaming she hated us just yesterday? I shouldn't have been _that _surprised, thanks to Tenten, I had had enough of girl emotions for…life.

Lee and Gai were just staring at her, too.

"THANK YOU, TENTEN-CHAN, OUR YOUTHFUL FLOWER!" Lee recovered first.

They sat down, and Tenten handed out the hot chocolate and muffins. Gai and I joined them. It was actually pretty good. I decided I liked this Tenten better.

…

I was walking home later, and saw Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto waved, and I stopped.

"Hey, Neji." He flashed a huge smile only he was capable of.

"Hi." I said, calmly.

"Humph, what's wrong, Neji-san?" Shikamaru asked me, right away. He, like usual, was smoking.

"What do you mean?" How did he even know there was something wrong?

"You're having girl trouble. Trust me, I can just tell." He sighed, blowing cigarette smoke out his nose.

"Yeah," I admitted, "Tenten was all crying at training yesterday, and today she was way too happy and made us all muffins."

Shikamaru took that all in, "Tenten-san must be having her period." He concluded.

"Oh." That wasn't really a kind of thing most guys like me think about—or want to.

"So, what's so bad about that?" Naruto asked, stupidly.

"Because they're all just fine, and then suddenly they're pissed off." Shikamaru answered, "And they cry so much and make you feel guilty."

"How do you know so much?" Naruto asked, as I was wondering the same thing.

"Ino." He replied, dropping his cigarette on the ground and putting it out with his foot, "I used to mark my calendar and just skip practice. Did I ever tell you about the time her period came early?"

"Used to?" I questioned.

"Ino doesn't come anymore." He replied, "I guess now that she's married she's too busy."

"Ino got married?" Naruto's eyes were huge.

"Hai," I said, "I remember how much Tenten was crying." I shuddered, remembering the few days before the wedding.

"Why would Tenten cry?"

"Ino's her best friend. They're really close. One time Uchiha finally turned her down for the last time and Ino was hysteric. Tenten wouldn't stop crying either, so then I had to go and beat Uchiha to a pulp just to get them to shut up." I recalled the memory.

"I think I remember that, too," Shikamaru looked up at the sky, "I punched Uchiha a few times, myself."

Naruto's eyes were wide.

"Well, I gotta get going. See you two later." Shikamaru gave us a lazy, half-wave and was gone in a poof.

When I got home, I ran into Haruko. Hyuuga Haruko is my second cousin. She's got long black hair, and pearly white eyes. She's also my fiancée. Apparently, it was either her or Hinata. I loved my cousin, Hinata, but like a sister. Not to mention I didn't want to marry her.

"You're back a little late," she smirked.

"Hn."

"Oyasumnasi, Neji-kun." She walked away, not even looking at me.

I kept walking.

_End Chapter_

**Serena- Plox review! Also, I'll try and update everyday!!!! Try, that is…**


	3. Pity Party

**Title****- Take A Heart, Leave A Heart**

**Author-**** 4give4get**

**Rating-**** T**

**Pairing****- NEJI X TENTEN ALL THE WAY!**

**Chapter-**** Three (Pity Party)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto. I don't think I want to, the show would totally suck if I owned it…**

**Serena- THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!**

_Pity Party…_

_**Tenten's POV:**_

Neji and I walked about five meters apart from each other. I would look at him, but I didn't need to look at him to know that he wasn't looking at me, either. We were on a mission. Quite simple, to get information about a band of mission nin. Apparently, they had been spotted in this certain village about a week ago.

Neji and I had gone in, asking people. None seemed very keen to tell us anything. When finally, I got so desperate as to flirt with a couple guys I saw at a bar to see what they knew, Neji saw and got pissed off.

"Why do you even care?" I stomped my foot, "I got some info, so it was worth it!"

"It was not!" he hissed, "It was completely unnecessary."

"Jealous." I snapped back, which brings us back to why he wasn't talking to me, and I wasn't talking to him.

When we came in sight of our camp, Hinata and Naruto, the rest of our team, waved. There were two tents. Neji noticed this, too.

"I'm sharing with Hinata!" I announced, and stormed toward the first one.

"I'm sharing with Naruto." Neji announced for himself, and went for the second tent.

"What got them so worked up?" I heard Hinata ask Naruto softly.

Hinata came into the tent as well, "Tenten, do you want to take a bath? I saw hot springs a few kilometers away."

A hot spring actually sounded nice. I nodded.

"So, what happened with you and Neji?" she asked in her soft voice as she pulled off her shirt by the edge of the spring.

"I just got some information by flirting with these guys and he got all pissy." I answered.

"Just that?" she frowned, as she stepped in and let out a sigh.

"I called him jealous." I mumbled, getting undressed myself.

"Neji-niisan would get mad about that." She answered, her mouth of partially under water.

"Hey, these are cute," I commented, picking up Hinata's pink lacy bra and panties.

"Thanks, I got them with Sakura." She grinned.

"Her and her pink." I laughed, getting into the hot spring. It felt sooo nice.

…

_**Neji's POV:**_

"So…." Naruto trailed off suggestively, "_Were _you jealous?"

"Of course not!" was my immediate reply, but I wasn't so sure.

"Somehow, I don't believe you. Come on, don't lie to me." He pouted, "I won't laugh, I want you and Ten-chan together, too. Then we can be brothers-in-law."

"Um, how?" I asked, not making any sense of his words.

"Well, I'll marry Hina-chan, of course!" he exclaimed.

I glared at him, and raised a fist.

"Whoa, whoa," he cowered backward, "I was just kidding Neji, sheesh."

"Hn."

"So you're jealous."

"Fine."

"OH MY GOD, I NEVER THOUGH YOU WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE SOMEONE!"

"Hey, I thought you just guessed!"

"NO! I WAS JUST TRYING TO BE ANNOYING! AND IT TURNS OUT YOU ACTUALLY _DO _LIKE HER! THAT'S HILARIOUS! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I wanted to shoot myself. No, shoot him.

…

As I got home, I came in to see Haruko. She looked grim.

"Neji," she began, "I'm sorry, but, I can't marry you."

"I understand." I said, levelly.

"I'm going to explain. I just don't think that you like me… at all. I don't want you to suffer, and if I did marry you, I would suffer as well. So… good-bye."

With that, she walked away, leaving me standing there. She was really hurt, that much I could tell. She was also right, I didn't like her much. I went to my room to ponder what had just happened.

…

_**Tenten's POV:**_

I stomped in the door, still semi-mad. Yutaka was there. Not happy, as usual.

"Tenten," he sighed, "I… I want to talk to you, sit down."

I nodded, and took the seat across from him.

"I-I don't want you to be upset, but… I don't want to marry you."

I couldn't help but widen my eyes, "Okay," I said weakly, "I won't make you."

"I'm really sorry." He _did _seem sorry, "I'm going to go home. Please don't take this to offence. I love you, Tenten. But in a special way. You're like the little sister I never had. You understand, right?"

"Actually, " I admitted, "You have no idea how much time I've spent wishing you were my brother, Yutaka."

That made him smile, "Well, I hope I might see you again, Tenten. If you ever do get married, invite me."

"You'll be the first on my list." I promised, "And I better get an invitation, too."

"You'll make a man really happy." Yutaka added.

_Is that… a compliment?_

"And you, too," I responded, "Except… a woman."

"See you around."

And he was gone.

… 

Did I ever love Yutaka? No, only like a brother. Did we ever really have moments? No, we never even held hands. Did I even feel any sort of emotional ties to him? Nope. And yet, I felt really bad. I must have made him feel pretty bad, too.

As much as I felt relief, I also felt like a huge asshole. I never even tried to see if I might like him. I didn't even give him a chance. I began to cry in spite of myself.

I went right to bed, not even bothering to change.

…

As soon as my alarm clock rang, I screamed, and jumped up out of bed. I didn't even change and ran to Ino's.

She was there, and surprisingly, Shikamaru was too. I greeted them both, not wanting to burst into tears in front of Shikamaru, though I have before.

"Tenten-chan, I'm so glad you're here." She hugged me, "I am going to leave here."

"Really?" I felt a little better already, "What brought it on?"

…

_**Ino's flashback, AND her POV:**_

_I was up all night, too scared to really sleep, but too tired to do anything else but sit on the couch. I was too dried up to cry. I heard, the front door swing open. Heavy footsteps followed._

_I looked up to see my husband, drunk as usual. He's always like that, especially when he comes home from work late._

_He came over to me, and held my chin securely._

"_Hey, Ino, baby. Let's have _**fun**_, tonight."_

_I cursed as I realized my lack of sleep for the past week made me useless in using any chakra. He would have an advantage, considering he was about four times my size._

_He started to take off my pants. I tried to kick him away, but it was no use. I screamed. I screamed for help. I screamed for all I was worth. I tried to slap him, but he pinned my arms back as he ran his tongue over the inside of my mouth._

_Suddenly, the door opened a second time, I could see who it was. I was just glad someone heard me._

"_Get off of her!" he yelled. Shikamaru! I felt him throw him off of me and connect a few punches to his head._

_I began to cry, as strong arms wrapped around me, and held me against Shikamaru's chest._

"_Shh," he whispered, "He won't touch you ever again, Ino. I promise. You're safe, now."_

_I nodded, and wiped my eyes._

**(A/N: I'm sorry if that was a little too visual. Or too much imagery or detail…)**

…

_**Back to Tenten POV:**_

Ino finished her story, my mouth hanging open.

"That was last night, so I'm just getting my things." She told me.

"What about your husband?" I asked.

"Arrested for attempted rape." Ino replied smugly.

"As odd as this might sound, that's great! Except for you almost getting raped!" I hugged her.

"I know. Hey, should you be getting to training?"

Oh yeah, training, Neji, Lee, Gai. Grr.

"Probably," I responded, "By the way, Yutaka dumped me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Tenten-chan, are you okay? Do you want me to come over, later?"

"Nah, you don't have to. I'd still like to se you. Bye, Ino-chan. Bye, Shikamaru!"

"Bye-bye, Tenten-chan!"

"See you, Tenten-san."

…

I walked toward training, VERY slowly, and reluctantly. Why do I even put up with this every day. Stupid Neji…

And what I saw blew my mind. Neji, sitting on a park bench. Hyuuga Neji.

"OH MY GOD, NEJI!" I screamed, "YOU'RE ACTUALLY BEING NORMAL AND SKIPPING TRAINGING!"

He looked up at me, "Not now, Tenten."

"Fine, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is."

"Oh, come on," I sighed, sitting next to him, "I bet whatever problem you've got is nothing compared to mine."

"Tch, really? Haruko broke up with me." He replied, smirking, "Beat that."

"Yutaka dumped me AND my best friend was nearly raped. OH! I win!" I smirked back.

"Is Ino okay?" he seemed concerned.

"Oh yeah, she and Shikamaru seemed fine."

"…"

"So, since we both got dumped, let's have a pity party!" I declared.

"A what?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what a pity party is!" I stood up, "It's when your friends host a party, and talk about how crumby your ex is, and really the whole opposite sex in general, and you play games and watch movies and stuff. So that's what we're doing!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him to my house.

"Isn't that sort of a girl-thing?" he asked, stoically, as I pushed him onto my living room couch and started digging in the drawer we keep movies in.

"Who says?" I snapped back, as I fished a movie that I still hadn't seen yet. My mom had given it to me for my birthday a few months ago.

"Hn."

I fed it into the DVD player, and skipped over the previews. I hit play and joined Neji on the couch. The movie was pretty good, I guess, but it was diffidently a chick-flick, and I'm pretty sure Neji didn't enjoy it. Only, at the part where the main character, Hanako, gets left by her boyfriend for another woman, did I start to get emotional again.

"Tenten, why are you crying?" he asked, as though he didn't see any reason to cry.

"Because," I wiped my eyes, only for them to fill with tears again, "Hanako's heart got broken. And just when she needed him the most, too."

"It's not real." He reminded me, "They're all actors. Tenten, it's pretend." He whispered gently in my ear and wiped my eyes gently and tucked loose hairs behind my ears.

I nodded, knowing how silly I must look. But nonetheless, I couldn't help but feel total sorrow, as though it was happening to me.

He wrapped his arms around me and I'll admit I got a lot of his shirt wet. I finally cried myself to sleep.

_End Chapter_

**Serena- Okay, I hope this one is long enough, if not just let me know, and I'll make the next ones even longer. If it's okay, I might make 'em longer anyway…**

**Luv ya all and plox review!**


	4. Sasuke and ANBU

**Chapter- ****Four (Sasuke and ANBU)**

**Disclaimer- I DON'T OWN NARUTO!**

**Serena- Thanks for the reviews! This chapter sort of sets the real plot, I guess…**

_Sasuke and ANBU…_

I woke up when I felt someone pulling my hand off of something soft. I opened my eyes to realize that it was Neji pulling my grip off his shirt. His hands were big and calloused.

"I'm sorry, Tenten, I didn't mean to wake you." He said softly when he noticed my eyes were open.

"It's okay." I muttered, my voice was hoarse since I had been asleep, "What time is it?"

"The movie just ended." Neji answered, gesturing at the screen, which were playing the credits.

"Oh," I looked down at my lap.

"Hanako falls in love with someone else." He whispered into my ear, "Someone who loves her back and this time it's for real."

"That's good." I sighed happily. I really did actually feel relieved. I decided since it ended happy that I liked the movie, but would still cry when she realizes her boyfriend's gone.

"Hey," I said, just thinking of something, "Are you hungry? Do you want some lunch?"

He opened his mouth to say something when I heard a knock at the door. Frowning, I stood up to answer it. It was Naruto, he was grinning like usual.

"No, I don't have ramen, and no, Hinata isn't here." I said, and started to close the door.

He stopped it with his foot, "Ha, ha, you know me too well, Tenny-chan. That's not why I'm here, though. Baa-chan wants Hyuuga in her office. He wasn't training with Lee and Gai, and wasn't at his house. I happen to know you as much as you know me, so… I came here."

"Yeah, Neji's here." I said, stepping aside to let him in.

But before Naruto could move an inch, Neji was behind me anyway.

"I'll be going now, I guess." He stated. He had heard the whole conversation and was gone in the blink of an eye.

I frowned. What a stupid pity-party! I fell asleep, and then he leaves after only a few hours. Feeling like the crappiest party host in the history of time, I closed the door and stomped back into my kitchen to eat something.

_**Neji's P.O.V**_

In the Hokage's office, Shikamaru, and Lee all stood and appeared to be waiting for Naruto and me. I took my spot in line on the end next to Shikamaru.

"The four of you will be given a special mission. The Sound village has taken over a small village north of here, and we believe Uchiha Sasuke—" Tsunade was cut off by Naruto.

"Sasuke?" he asked, wide eyed.

We all glared at him to shut up, and he did. But he still had this weird determined look in his eye that only Naruto could accomplish.

"As I was saying," she continued, "We believe that Uchiha Sasuke is in on it. The only reason we are sending you is to capture Uchiha and bring him back. Kill any Sound Nins that get in your way, and get out A.S.A.P."

"Got it." Shikamaru said, "Troublesome as it is."

"Yosh! I will do everything in my youthful power to bring Sasuke-kun back!" Lee declared.

"Hn." I said.

Naruto said nothing at all, but, like I said, had that funny look in his eye. His mouth was clamped shut for once. He was all hell-serious. It was almost unnerving to see him like that. Even in the worst of situations Naruto would have good humor about it, so it really did affect the people around him, myself included. When he wasn't all smiles and ramen-rants, I almost felt like panicking. I tried to give him a reassuring look, that said there would be a tomorrow, the kind of look Tenten usually gave me when I said it would be our fate to die on a mission. Of course, that was years ago.

By the time we set out, his facial expression was almost unreadable. Did he know something we didn't?

_**Tenten's P.O.V**_

I knocked harder on the door, "IIII-NOOOOOOO!" I shouted.

The door opened with a click to reveal a surprised looking Mrs. Nara. I flushed with embarrassment.

"Tenten-san?" she questioned.

"I'm sorry, but I'm looking for Ino, and she obviously isn't at her parents' house, she moved out of her other one, and this is the only other place I could think of…" I bit my lip.

She smiled, "Actually Ino is here, the poor dear. Come on in."

Their house was on a scale of one to ten, a seven, one being the neatest, and ten being the messiest. It was pretty untidy, but you could tell that people used every inch of the house. Nothing was unclean. There wasn't a spot of dirt of dust to be found. The air smelled like tea. The living room light was dim.

Ino sat on the couch, sadly staring at the television, probably not even paying attention to it, but just spacing out.

"Ino-chan?" I asked, making her jump.

"Oh, hi, Tenten-chan." She barely turned to look at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking closer to her.

"I'm just fine. I just sort of went into shock after everything that happened. Hopefully it'll wear off." She explained in monotone.

I nodded. I figured it was a good thing her ex was locked up in the safety of a jail cell, otherwise I might have a body to dispose of…

…

_**Neji's P.O.V**_

"I still don't see why we can't barge in there and drag him back!" Nartuo yelled, his voice was slightly muffled since Shikamaru had him frozen to the spot with his shadow jutsu.

"We can't go in looking like Konoha shinobi." I snapped, getting slightly impatient with him.

"Neji's right." Shikamaru said, quieter. I could see the wheels turning in his head. If anyone could dream up a plan for this mission, it would be him.

"Sasuke is extremely elite, yes." Shikamaru began thinking out loud, "But he is still human. Every human has flaws. He has to rest sometime; he needs nutrition like any one of us. And most importantly, stress will wear him out, and diffidently lower his guard."

Lee and I nodded. Naruto was still going berserk.

"Neji," he said to me, "I need you to change yourself into Ino and change Lee into Sakura."

"What?" Lee asked at the same time I asked, "Why?"

"You are the only one good enough in that type of ninjustu to actually pass. If Naruto or I did it, he'd see through it in a second." He said, I could tell he was already rehearsing the next step in his head, "Use your Byakugan to spot him out. After his power is lower, Naruto and I will jump in, I'll try and catch him, Naruto" he turned to Naruto, "You better not screw this up because of your ties to him. Settle any dispute with him later."

Naruto glared at him.

"Go." He said to me.

"Hai." I said, slowly, and with a poof, I was suddenly five foot seven, blonde, and a female.

"She has longer hair, Neji." Shikamaru said, not looking at me, so I couldn't read is expression.

"Hai." I poofed again, this time my ponytail was all the way down my back.

"That's perfect."

I changed Lee into Sakura, and we set out. I must say, having breasts felt weird. I was smaller, too. How did girls stand it? I decided I would ask Tenten when I got back. I felt extremely insecure from my lack of strength. The female body wasn't built for a _lot_ of stuff. I doubt I was half as strong as my usual body. Lee seemed to be uncomfortable as well.

"Lee, he's in the forest training." He told him. Ack! My voice was a girl's voice. Lee sniggered; it was that high and delicate.

"Shutup." I muttered, purposely lowering my voice. It still sounded feminine.

We made our way to the forest and saw him. Of course, he instantly noticed our presence. He turned to look at us, and then stopped, his eyes widened in shock.

"Hey!" I shouted, "Uchiha… I mean, Sasuke!... kun!" I remembered in the nick of time to add _kun _on the end of his name.

"Sakura. Yamanaka." He seemed confused still.

"Sasuke-kun! We found you!" Lee yelled, waving, and actually looked just like a fan girl.

The look of dread came across his face. I guess since he left he had been fan girl-free, and now he was face-to-face with the two most obsessed fans he ever had.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Lee screamed at the top of my lungs and ran towards him, I followed.

Now Uchiha looked terrified. He didn't want to hurt us, obviously, but didn't want us anywhere near him, either.

"You two are annoying. Get out of my sight." He said, stoically.

"Awww, you don't mean that, Sasuke-KUN!" Lee squealed, while winking at him.

"Yes, I do. Go away."

"NOOO YOU DON'T, SASU-KUUUUN!"

"Yes."

"NOOOPE!"

"Yes."

"NO-NO-NO, SAAAAASYYYYYY-KUN!"

"_Yes._"

"NUH-UUUUH, SAAAASUUUKEEE-KUUUUN!"

I had to say, Lee had the fan girl act down pat. I would have never known it was him had I not been in on the plan.

"Ugh!" Uchiha clutched his head, "I'll do anything! Just _go away_."

That's when Shikamaru and Naruto jumped out of the trees. Naruto looked totally pissed like before and fired up his Rasengan and was soaring towards him, but Uchiha jumped out of the way… and right into Shikamaru's shadow technique. He was frozen so all he could do was glare at us.

With a poof, Lee and I turned back into our normal bodies.

Uchiha smiled, sadistically. I didn't like the look he had, one bit. Suddenly, he disappeared.

"Shit." Shikamaru cursed, instantly looking toward the sky, probably expecting him to come from above.

"My, my, Sasuke-kun, do we have visitors?" an icy voice asked.

"Hn." Uchiha said, walking out of the trees.

Orochimaru closely followed him.

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed, and went lunging at him. His fist might have even connected to Uchiha, but luckily Shikamaru stopped him again.

"Hn, you're still just as much of an idiot." Uchiha commented, "Dobe."

After that, I don't think I had ever seen Naruto that worked up. Poor guy, you almost had to feel sorry for him.

By now, about fifteen or twenty Sound Jounins had joined the original two. Kabuto, included. This would be harder than we though. I looked at Shikamaru to see him already devising a new plan. _He's incredible._ I thought.

I was a Jounin, so were Shikamaru and Lee. Naruto was a Chuunin only because he had never gotten around to taking the Jounin exams yet. He was at the right level, though. I knew he was diffidently an even match for me, maybe even better. But, this of course, I would never admit aloud. I frowned. We were horribly outnumbered.

…

**Serena- Okay, just imagine a BIIIIG, battle between Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Lee, and Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and the rest of the Sound Jounins. I totally suck at fight-scenes, so I'm only going to do the important ones. Sorry, hopefully after a little practice, I'll get better. Hopefully…**

…

_**Tenten's P.O.V**_

I stood nervously in the Hokage's office. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were standing next to me, Sakura was whispering to Hinata. Ino was clutching my arm.

"I sent four shinobi to a village that the Sound had recently taken over," Tsunade explained quickly, obviously just covering the basics, "Their mission was to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, but I'm realizing a flaw I made now."

Sakura gasped when she heard Sasuke's name, but other than that, showed no sign that she even heard the name before. Hinata and I both patted her shoulder.

"A bunch of Sound Jounin have just returned back to that village," the Hokage continued, "Four won't be nearly enough. Of course, I can't just sacrifice my four favorite kunoichis or my only apprentice, so I want you to change into ANBU uniforms."

I grinned and even Ino cracked a smile. We would get to play ANBU members! Maybe it was to psych the enemy out. I didn't really care why, though.

We got outfitted in the black three-quarter length pants, tan vest, bandages around our lower legs, black finger-less gloves, more bandages around the arms, and the famous ANBU mask. I giggled at my image in the mirror. I looked pretty tough. I looked like an ANBU! When we were all situated, we took off.

…

_**Neji's P.O.V**_

My chakra was about 75 used up. I could feel my body ache, and my shoulders slouch from lack of energy. Shikamaru was bleeding badly, and Lee was barely standing. Naruto was tied to a tree with chakra strings. He was pretty scratched up himself.

"Like I said before," Uchiha was saying, "You are still stupid, which makes you just as weak. You don't even try to stop you emotions. Don't you ever get tired of being beaten and looked down on? Please tell me you've at least come to realization enough to give up your foolish dream of being Hokage."

Naruto just stared down at his lap. I didn't blame him. Uchiha hadn't been taught any more manners from Orochimaru, obviously.

"I'll thank you to shut your mouth and pick on someone who can at least fight back!" a determined female voice that sounded strangely like my cousin's cut in. Out of nowhere, four ANBU members suddenly appeared in the middle of it all. They were all females, but looked pretty strong. I would have let out a sigh in relief had I not been trying to keep it in since I'm Hyuuga Neji, and I can't exactly sigh in relief without my reputation going out the window.

Each of them brandished a katana. And, when I looked closer, I saw that one of them had chin-length pink hair. I know for a _fact _that Sakura is the only pink haired person in Konoha. I also noticed another had long blonde hair, another had short navy blue hair, and the last had chocolate colored buns on the side of her head. They weren't ANBU, but I was still relieved to see anyone at all.

"Hmmph, Konoha tries in vain to possibly spare a few of the lives of their shinobi." Orochimaru cackled, in serene amusement.

"I wouldn't push it, you're dead as it is!" the brunette yelled, and I recognized Tenten's voice.

Uchiha on the other hand, only had eyes for Sakura. It was pretty obviously her. She looked back at him, but with what expression, I don't know.

"An ANBU are you now, Sakura?" he asked in a quiet tone.

"Don't you dare talk to me, Uchiha." She spat, and unsheathed her katana. He seemed horribly taken back by her words. I guess that was because her image had just been screaming "SASUKE-KUN!" like she used to a few minutes ago.

Tenten leaped at Kabuto, who was fighting me before the interruption, and pulled out two enormously huge scrolls,_ "Soshouryu!_" she activated them. Hundreds of thousands of weapons of all sorts came bombarding the guy. He, of course, leaped up and out of the way, landing safely on the ground a few yards back. Tenten prepared to fire another, but I beat her to it.

I activated my Byakugan and hit all of his chakra points with complete accuracy. He fell to the ground, motionless. Tenten was there is a second, though and before he could stand up, she thrust an anvil-shaped weapon into his back, causing puddles of dark, red blood to spill out of Kabuto's body. She stared down at him. Even though she was wearing a mask, I knew she was feeling bad for him.

I tapped her shoulder to distract her and jumped forward towards the remaining enemies. She followed.

_**Regular P.O.V**_

Hinata attacked Sasuke with some reluctance. She had known him, and played on the playground with him before his family was killed. Most of her energy she used to dodge his attacks. He noticed she wasn't attacking back.

_Look what he was doing to Naruto-kun! _She told herself, trying to bring up some reason to why she should kill him on the spot. _Tying him up and taunting him like that. Naruto-kun isn't like much other people. He takes the things people say to heart and carries it with him for the rest of his life. I know he does. I know and understand him better than anybody else. Probably even better than himself._

"Hey!" Sakura celled to Hinata, "Let's switch." She looked at Sasuke, "This is my fight." Hinata nodded and jumped over to where she stood and watched Sakura run at her former teammate. She turned to whom Sakura was fighting. Orochimaru himself. She closed her eyes, knowing this would be it. This was how she died. It didn't sound so bad. She was fighting beside the people she had known her whole life, and she would be doing it for Konoha. She opened them, and attacked Orochimaru with everything she had.

Back ever by Sakura, she had thrown Sasuke through several trees, and he wasn't looking so good. He reached out to hit her with the flat side of his katana, and it connected, knocking her back several feet. She fell on her knees breathless. But as soon as she steadied herself, she was back up again. She aimed a kick to his stomach. Dodged. She aimed another to his thigh. He swerved just in time. In a final attempt before she'd jump back to take another breather she punched his left clavicle. Blocked. Sasuke caught her punch and wasn't letting go. His black eyes bore into her, and she was glad of the mask to protect her expression.

She gathered her strength and pulled away, jumping back, panting. She closed her eyes, and disappeared with a poof. She came from directly above him, and he blocked each of her blows, until suddenly, a second Sakura was behind him, and grabbed his ankle. She lifted him up by twirling in a circle, and threw him as far as she could. Sasuke smashed through several trees and when he landed he was several meters away and about four feet underground.

Before he could even blink, a third Sakura jumped for him and he barely managed to leap out of the way. He leaned back against a tree, waiting for her next attack. He hadn't expected her to take the offence at all, and especially not so quickly. She was on him in a second and had her katana at his throat. It was over.

Shikamaru saw and was there to freeze him. Sakura dropped the katana and fell to the ground. Her legs had openly bleeding cuts, and blood spurted out her mouth. She didn't want to waste chakra healing herself, however.

Shikamaru calmly walked up to Sasuke and pulled a bottle of black liquid out of his pocket, "This is paralysis potion." He explained quietly, "When you drink it, it disconnects your mind to you body, so basically you can't move. We'll carry you back to Konoha. It should wear off after a few days."

Shikamaru opened it and poured it into Sasuke's protesting mouth. Though, he would do nothing but swallow it. His eyelids soon drooped.

_End Chapter_

**Serena- THANKS FOR READING PLOX REVIEW!!!!! Sorry for taking a while to write this. I was on a class trip to Six Flags yesterday and we were there ALL day, so it's not like I could write then, and I had to write it all Friday night and Sunday morning.**

**AND, I totally suggest that you go to this address and watch the movie there: http:// www. zeitgeist movie .com Of course, just delete the spaces. It will completely open your eyes to things.**

**Luv ya all!**


	5. AN: WRONG CHAPTER, BUT FIXED NOW

**Serena-I MESSED UP HUGE!!**

**Okay, chapter four WAS THE WRONG THING, BUT I CHANGED IT, SO NOW IT IS RIGHT! SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION!!!!**


	6. Held Fast

**Chapter- Five (Held Fast)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto. Never did, never will.**

**Serena- Sorry it took so long. Also, sorry I screwed up putting the last chapter up. I changed the name of the document, and I forgot, so I uploaded the wrong thing, and yeah… That's the kind of stuff I do… on a daily basis.**

_Held Fast…_

_**Regular P.O.V**_

Ino and Shikamaru carried Sasuke to a nearby hotel in the village. The eight decided to stay the night in the village to rest up. That, and Hinata was unconscious from her fight. Sakura had done her best to heal her, but ran out of chakra. Hinata wasn't looking good. Sakura didn't want to say it, but it was a sixty-five percent chance she might not live. Sakura passed right out, Lee, Shikamaru, and Ino went to sleep too. Naruto stayed up and just stared at Hinata's face while he clutched her small pale hand.

…

_**Neji's P.O.V**_

I was totally beat. I just hurt _everywhere._ Tenten, who I was sharing the room with, smiled at me, as she took off the mask.

"You were good." She commented, "As usual."

I wanted to feel modest, but couldn't. I liked it when Tenten admired me.

"Hn."

That made her crack a smile, as she pulled off her shinobi sandals. **(Serena-Heck, I don't know what else to call them.)** I guess when I was not talkative, which is usually, she finds it amusing somehow.

"Tenten?" I asked.

"Hmm, yeah?" she was about to grab the bathroom doorknob, but turned in my direction instead.

"How do you stand being a girl?" I asked, and then told her about the first plan Shikamaru had when Lee and I were momentarily female. Tenten just broke into laughter.

"So…"

"What didn't you like about being a female?" she frowned, not getting it.

"I felt short, lacking in strength, and just plain _small_." I explained to get a slap on the head.

"You're pretty full of it, aren't you?" she looked even more amused now, "Since I've known you most of my life I'm not surprised by your ego any more."

That made me scowl.

"But you know…" she walked over and sat next to me on the bed, "You're ego's part of why I love you."

My mind stopped working for a few seconds. When it did, I could only stare into her chocolate eyes. She was dead serious. I wasn't dreaming. She was really there, saying that. When she realized I wasn't going to respond, she got up and went in the bathroom. I could hear the showerhead turn on.

I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. What should I say when she comes out? Should I say anything? After a few moments of contemplating, I heard the shower go off. When she walked out, her hair was up and she was wearing boxers and a t-shirt.

"Neji?" she asked, sitting beside me, "Are you okay?"

"Hn."

"You're hurt." She placed her fingers on my forehead. I winced at her touch. I had forgotten my head was bleeding earlier, "Here, sit up. I think I have something for that." Tenten began to dig through her bag, and produced a jar. I sat up. As she rubbed ointment on my gash, it stung slightly.

"That hurts." I complained, pulling away from her.

"Too bad!" she snapped, grabbing a handful of my hair, "Now hold still." Tenten went back to putting ointment on my forehead. I twitched. She glared down. I began to notice how close she really was. Her lips pressed together, her brown eyes examined my face.

It was like slow motion. I leaned in. Our lips brushed, and then she pulled away. Smirking, I grabbed _her _hair this time, and kissed her again, this time it was longer. She ran her tongue along my bottom lip. My hands ran through her damp hair, making the pins fall out.

I pushed her onto the bed and kissed the nape of her neck. I got on top of her and started kissing her face again. She just stared up at me.

"Neji…"

"Hn." I reached to pull of her boxers, and she touched my face, gently. The feeling I got from it was like nothing else. _I love her. I love her. I love her. I LOVE HER!_ My thoughts screamed.

**(Serena- Okay, I just remembered in the nick of time that this was a T-rated story…)**

Tenten pulled of my shirt, and ran her hands down my front. I leaned more weight on her, enjoying the feeling of our skin touching. The rest was history.

…

_**Tenten's P.O.V**_

For breakfast I went to a small restaurant with Ino. Hinata hadn't regained consciousness yet, and Sakura was too worried about her and the whole concept of having Sasuke with her, had diffidently gotten to her and Naruto's heads.

"Do you think we should pick up some food for the rest of them, Tenten-chan?" Ino asked, peering in a shop window.

"Yeah." I said slowly, "Sakura and Naruto should eat something. Also Lee, Shikamaru, and Neji will want some."

"Sasuke?"

"Him too."

We ran and got miso soup, rice balls wrapped in dry seaweed, and tea from the restaurant and carried them back to the tiny hotel. As funny as Naruto was acting, even he pasted a big grin on his face when he saw food.

"Arigato, Tenten-kun!" he yelled, pulling one of the bags from me.

"A-anou, sure." I replied shakily.

We all gathered in one room to lay out the food. I sat next to Neji and smiled when he looked down at me. My hips hurt pretty bad from his grip the night before. I was sure they'd be pretty sore for a few more days.

"I say," Sakura began, "that we should go home in two groups. First, Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru. You will accompany Sasuke back. Lee and I will go slower with Hinata. She's well enough to be moved now, I believe." No one argued with Sakura when she used that tone of voice. Besides, the plan seemed simple enough.

"When should we leave?" Shikamaru asked, slurping some soup.

"Soon. Get packed."

_Whoa,_ I remember thinking, _Sakura Won Kenobi._

So we quickly finished eating and packed what few things we brought. I got redressed in the ANBU get-up. Neji walked over to me and bent down to my ear, "I love you." He whispered, making my insides boil.

**CHA! Neji loves me! **Inner Tenten raged with fiery hearts in the background.

_So he wasn't just caught up in the moment last night! _I thought happily. Neji actually loved me back. What strange force had made him loopy enough to confess it? I stared back into his white eyes. I saw no hint of a lie there. I smiled. He _smirked _back; Neji doesn't smile.

We left not long after that.

…

_**Ino's P.O.V**_

I insisted on walking in front. I don't know why. It wasn't likely we'd run into anybody, it was a short trip back too. Shikamaru was right on my heels the whole time. I kept doing paranoid 360s. He frowned at my behavior. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

Suddenly, a hand had reached out of the ground and grabbed my right ankle. I scream rose to my throat, and I kicked it with my other foot. Before I could blink, Orochimaru and several Sound nins had separated Neji and Tenten—who had Sasuke—and Shikamaru, Naruto, and me. I sank to my knees from the shock of it all.

"Ino!" Shikamaru yelled, looking at me with horror.

At first I thought that the hand from underground had slit my tendons. I almost began crying. With sliced tendons in my ankles, I'd never walk again. Then, I saw they were both perfectly intact. Then I saw what it was. I had been clutching my head with both hands, and I stared down at my hands. They were covered in blood. It took me about three seconds to realize the huge gash on my forehead. Blood spilled out and dripped down my face. I was frozen with terror.

I realized, that in the time where the enemy appeared, I had been in the way and they cut me with a shiruken. I took more deep breaths, and slowly got onto my wobbling legs. I could still think clearly enough to fight.

Kunai were thrown my way, and I just managed to deflect them. I whirled in the direction they had come from and threw a few of my own. I ran at the man, sending a punch to his side. He—with a poof—turned into a log. I cursed and whirled around. Nothing behind me. I put my arms over my face as his foot landed there. The impact knocked me to the ground. I got back up fast and ran at him again. I punched high. He prepared to block it, but at the last second I stopped and did a swing-kick that buckled his knees. I jumped back up and kicked him hard in the back before he even hit the ground. He disappeared and was behind me in a second. He pinned my arms to my sides and I tried to jump away. He followed and shoved me back down into the ground with so much force it brought tears to my eyes. I wiped them away, though and stood up again.

…

_**Tenten's P.O.V**_

I kicked Sasuke back into a tree. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. I cursed myself for not being quite as strong as Neji. He was fighting three, while I was one. I wished I could look over to see how Shikamaru, Ino, and Naruto were. But I couldn't. I could hardly even glance up at Neji. Sasuke knocked my down to the ground, and held my throat. I tried to kick him off, but I wasn't as strong as he.

But Neji was there in a second sending a harsh blow to his head. Now I really felt like crap. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and could then predict any of Neji's moves. I'd say they'd be even. The other three came running at Neji, and I pulled myself to my feet. I could see what was happening now. There wasn't anything I could do about it, but I hard to try. They began cutting Neji down with kunai, and one hit him over the head extremely hard. Blood began spurting out his nose. I screamed, and kicked one of them to the ground.

He just held my shoulders and shoved me back. Neji fell to the ground. His open white orbs staring at me.

_End Chapter_

**Serena- Yay! Another fight scene! Hopefully this one is better than the last one. Like I said, this is my total weak spot when it comes to writing fanfics. Anyway, feedback and advice (****especially advice****) on that would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks for reviewing peops, keep 'em coming! Hope ya liked!**

**Luv ya all!**


	7. The End, the Begining, and Love

**Chapter- Six (The End, the Beginning, and Love)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.**

**Serena- ATTENTION TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN! This chapter is the last, as you read this, know that the story is done and over! Please review when finished!**

_The End, the Beginning, and Love…_

_**Tenten's P.O.V**_

His white. Empty. Lifeless. Orbs. I stared back, wondering if I was dreaming. Chills ran through my body. Sasuke smirked, not that I was focused on him. I couldn't look away from Neji's body. I slowly sank to my knees, and then on all fours. I tried to refrain from puking my guts out. When I failed, at least I didn't get any on the body. It was all I could do to show some kind of emotion. I was just too plain shocked to cry.

"Tenten-chan!" I heard Ino's voice shout. I didn't look for where her voice was coming from. I then heard Shikamaru say something, I only caught the words, 'stay,' 'care,' and 'Ino.'

One of the Sound Jounins from before was about to finish me off (and would have) but Naruto was pretty quick to my defense. That little hyper kid _had _improved since the academy. I stayed in that curled up position, shaking, willing myself not to look at Neji's body, until a warm, gentle hand began rubbing my back. I looked up and saw tears in Ino's blue eyes. They reminded me that I should cry too.

She wrapped her arms around me and we both sobbed for what seemed like the longest time. When I finally looked up from where I had buried my face in her shoulder. There were several Konoha Jounins standing over the dead bodies of the Sound nins. And the dead body of Neji.

_Neji's… gone,_ was all my mind would tell me.

Ino helped me to my feet, "Let's take you home, Tenten-chan." She whispered, stroking my bangs. I gulped and nodded.

…

I felt like I wasn't even alive. Neji wasn't here. It seemed like such a short while ago that he was sitting on this couch next to me, while I cried about how Hanako's boyfriend left her in the movie.

I also felt like total worthless crap. Neji died protecting me. His life was _diffidently _worth more than mine! Why would he die for some weak, worthless girl like me, who wasn't of noble blood, when he was _Hyuuga Neji _the prodigy, one of the best Jounins Konoha had ever seen? It made no sense as much as it frustrated me.

Then, the thought came to me: maybe, he died protecting me, even though I was some weak worthless girl not of noble blood because, he, _Hyuuga Neji,_ the prodigy, one of the best Jounins Konoha had ever seen, loved me? Did Neji actually mean it when he said it? I thought he did, but probably just wanted to think he loved me back as I loved him.

It was just so confusing, horrible and sad!

But through it all, I decided that I would live on without him. I sobbed shamelessly at his funeral, and for the first month after Neji's death put a single rose on his grave every morning.

Nine months later, I gave birth to a baby boy with dark brown hair and pale white eyes. I named him Yutaka. When he was about ten, he began to be able to use the Byakugan as well as any other Hyuuga.

I am Tenten, just Tenten. Tenten of the Leaf, if you will. And that is my story of how just as I came to love a man named Hyuuga Neji, he was ripped mercilessly away from me by cruel fate.

_End Chapter_

_End Story_

**Serena- YUP! That's the end, sorry that I killed Neji, I didn't want to, but decided it was necessary for the story. AHHH! My first death fic! Anywho, hope you liked reading ****Take a Heart, Leave a Heart**

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**Princess of Storms, SomeRandomThing, The Dead Snake, Youndime16, firevamp, iloooveinuyahsa1, loves-emo-guys-with-hair**** and ****scotty-lover.**

**As of last chapter (chapter 5) this story had 810 hits! Thanks everyone!**

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_**Epilogue**_

-Ino and Shikamaru began dating and later married. They had two lazy-ass sons, and one preppy-bitchy daughter of whom the only thing on her mind is flirting with guys, sadly enough, especially the ones that always ended up being gay in the end.

-Hinata lived, but walked with a limp on her left foot for about fifty years until she was magically cured by a wood fairy.

-They sentenced Sasuke to a life of being stalked by Fangirls, which would have happened anyway. **(Serena- Eww, old-people-Fangirls!)**

-Naruto and Hinata got married, but then moved in with the wood fairies after fifty years and had a wonderful retirement in the wood fairy castle.


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